Kaushik Banerjee

Multiresidue pesticide analysis in fresh produce by capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/selective ion monitoring (GC-MS/SIM) and -tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS).

A multiresidue method for the analysis of pesticides in fresh produce has been developed using salt-out acetonitrile extraction, solid-phase dispersive cleanup with octadecyl-bonded silica (C(18)), and graphitized carbon black/primary-secondary amine (GCB/PSA) sorbents and toluene, followed by capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in selected ion monitoring mode (GC-MS/SIM) or -tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). Quantitation was determined from calibration curves using matrix-matched standards ranging from 3.3 to 6667 ng/mL with r(2) > 0.99, and geometric mean limits of quantitation were typically 8.4 and 3.4 microg/kg for GC-MS/SIM and GC-MS/MS, respectively. Identification was determined by using target and qualifier ions and qualifier-to-target ratios for GC-MS/SIM and two ion transitions for GC-MS/MS. Fortification studies (10, 25, 100, and 500 microg/kg) were performed on 167 organohalogen, organophosphorus, and pyrethroid pesticides in 10 different commodities (apple, broccoli, carrot, onion, orange, pea, peach, potato, spinach, and tomato). The mean percent recoveries were 90 +/- 14, 87 +/- 14, 89 +/- 14, and 92 +/- 14% for GC-MS/SIM and 95 +/- 22, 93 +/- 14, 93 +/- 13, and 97 +/- 13% for GC-MS/MS at 10, 25, 100, and 500 microg/kg, respectively. GC-MS/MS was shown to be more effective than GC-MS/SIM due to its specificity and sensitivity in detecting pesticides in fresh produce samples. The method, based on concepts from the multiresidue procedure used by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe), was shown to be efficient in screening, identifying, and quantitating pesticides in fresh produce samples.

Multiresidue pesticide analysis of agricultural commodities using acetonitrile salt-out extraction, dispersive solid-phase sample clean-up, and high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A multiresidue method analyzing 209 pesticides in 24 agricultural commodities has been developed and validated using the original Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) procedure and high performance liquid chromatography-positive electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. Using solvent-only calibration standards (SOCSs) and matrix-matched calibration standards (MMCSs), it was demonstrated that a minimal concentration of 5-10 μg/kg (part per billion, ppb) of analytes in matrix is required for the consistent identification of targeted pesticides with two MRM transitions. Method performance was validated by the precision and accuracy results obtained from fortification studies at 10, 25, 100, and 500 ppb and MMCSs. The method was demonstrated to achieve an average recovery of 100 ± 20% (n = 4) for >75% of evaluated pesticides at the low fortification level (10 ppb) and improved to >84% at the higher fortification concentrations in all 24 matrices. Matrix effects in LC-MS/MS analysis were studied by evaluating the slope ratios of calibration curves (1.0-100 ng/mL) obtained from the SOCSs and MMCSs. Principal component analysis (PCA) of LC-MS/MS and method validation data confirmed that each matrix exerts its specific effect during the sample preparation and LC-MS/MS analysis. The matrix effect is primarily dependent on the matrix type, pesticide type and concentration. Some caution is warranted when using matrix matched calibration curves for the quantitation of pesticides to alleviate concerns on matrix effects. The QuEChERS method with LC-MS/MS was used to identify and quantitate pesticides residues, with concentrations ranging from 2.5 to >1000 ppb in a variety of agricultural samples, demonstrating fitness for screening and surveillance applications.

Development and interlaboratory validation of a QuEChERS-based liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for multiresidue pesticide analysis.

A high-throughput, QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, Safe) sample preparation and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analytical method has been developed and validated for the determination of 191 pesticides in vegetation and fruit samples. Using identical LC analytical column and MS/MS instrumentation and operation parameters, this method was evaluated at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Research Centre for Grapes (NRCG), India, and Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) laboratories. Method validation results showed that all but 1 of these 191 pesticides can be analyzed by LC-MS/MS with instrument detection limits (IDL) in the parts per trillion (ppt) range. Matrix-dependent IDL studies showed that due to either the low ionization efficiency or matrix effect exerted, 14 of these 191 pesticides could not be analyzed by this method. Method recovery (%R) and method detection limits (MDLs) were determined by the three laboratories using four sample matrices in replicates (N = 4). With >79% of %R data from the fortification studies in the range from 80 to 120%, MDLs were determined in the low parts per billion range with >94% of MDLs in the range from 0.5 to 5 ppb. Applying this method to the analysis of incurred samples showed that two multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) transitions may not be enough to provide 100% true positive identification of target pesticides; however, quantitative results obtained from the three laboratories had an excellent match with only a few discrepancies in the low parts per billion levels. The %R data from the fortification studies were subjected to principal component analysis and showed the majority of %R fell into the cluster of 80% < %R < 120%. Due to the matrix effect exerted by ginseng and peach, outliers were observed at the lowest spiking levels of 10 and 25 ppb. The study also showed that QuEChERS samples should be analyzed as soon as prepared or stored in a freezer to avoid any adverse affect on the analytes evaluated.

Multiresidue Pesticide Analysis of Ginseng Powders Using Acetonitrile- or Acetone-Based Extraction, Solid-Phase Extraction Cleanup, and Gas Chromatography−Mass Spectrometry/Selective Ion Monitoring (GC-MS/SIM) or −Tandem Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS/MS)†

A multiresidue method for the analysis of 168 pesticides in dried powdered ginseng has been developed using acetonitrile or acetone mixture (acetone/cyclohexane/ethyl acetate, 2:1:1 v/v/v) extraction, solid-phase extraction (SPE) cleanup with octyl-bonded silica (C(8)), graphitized carbon black/primary-secondary amine (GCB/PSA) sorbents and toluene, and capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/selective ion monitoring (GC-MS/SIM) or -tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). The geometric mean limits of quantitation (LOQs) were 53 and 6 microg/kg for the acetonitrile extraction and 48 and 7 microg/kg for the acetone-based extraction for GC-MS/SIM and GC-MS/MS, respectively. Mean percent recoveries and standard deviations from the ginseng fortified at 25, 100, and 500 microg/kg using GC-MS/SIM were 87 +/- 10, 88 +/- 8, and 86 +/- 10% from acetonitrile extracts and 88 +/- 13, 88 +/- 12, and 88 +/- 14% from acetone mixture extracts, respectively. The mean percent recoveries from the ginseng at the 25, 100, and 500 microg/kg levels using GC-MS/MS were 83 +/- 19, 90 +/- 13, and 89 +/- 11% from acetonitrile extracts and 98 +/- 20, 91 +/- 13, and 88 +/- 14% from acetone extracts, respectively. Twelve dried ginseng products were found to contain one or more of the following pesticides and their metabolites: BHCs (benzene hexachlorides, alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and delta-), chlorothalonil, chlorpyrifos, DDT (dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane), dacthal, diazinon, iprodione, quintozene, and procymidone ranging from <1 to >4000 microg/kg. No significant differences were found between the two extraction solvents, and GC-MS/MS was found to be more specific and sensitive than GC-MS/SIM. The procedures described were shown to be effective in screening, identifying, confirming, and quantitating pesticides in commercial ginseng products.

Optimization of two-dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry for separation and estimation of the residues of 160 pesticides and 25 persistent organic pollutants in grape and wine.

Two-dimensional gas chromatography (GCxGC) coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometric (TOFMS) method was optimized for simultaneous analysis of 160 pesticides, 12 dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 12 polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and bisphenol A in grape and wine. GCxGC-TOFMS could separate all the 185 analytes within 38min with >85% NIST library-based mass spectral confirmations. The matrix effect quantified as the ratio of the slope of matrix-matched to solvent calibrations was within 0.5-1.5 for most analytes. LOQ of most of the analytes was < or =10microg/L with nine exceptions having LOQs of 12.5-25microg/L. Recoveries ranged between 70 and 120% with <20% expanded uncertainties for 151 and 148 compounds in grape and wine, respectively, with intra-laboratory Horwitz ratio <0.2 for all analytes. The method was evaluated in the incurred grape samples where residues of cypermethrin, permethrin, chlorpyriphos, metalaxyl and etophenprox were detected at below MRL.

Multiresidue Analysis of 50 Pesticides in Grape, Pomegranate, and Mango by Gas Chromatography−Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry

A selective and sensitive multiresidue analysis method is reported for simultaneous determination of 50 pesticides of different chemical classes in three commercially important fruits of different nature viz. grape, pomegranate, and mango. The sample preparation method involves extraction of a 10 g sample with 10 mL of ethyl acetate; cleanup by dispersive solid phase extraction with primary secondary amine (PSA, 25 mg) for grape and PSA + graphitized carbon black (25 + 5 mg) for pomegranate and mango; and determination by gas chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry through multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). Sample preparation under acidified (pH 4) and cold (<4 degrees C) conditions, use of PTV-large volume injection (20 microL) through multibaffled liner and chromatographic separation on a short 10 m VF-5MS capillary column gave a satisfactory response for all of the analytes including relatively unstable compounds such as captan, captafol, folpet, endrine, and iprodione within 31.8 min. The limit of quantification (LOQ) of most of the compounds was <or=10 ng g(-1) except for captan, captafol, and folpet, where the LOQ was <or=20 ng g(-1). For each analyte, the unique and most abundant MRM was selected for quantification, and the next most abundant for confirmation, with their abundance ratio being used for unambiguous identification of any detected pesticide in samples within 20% tolerance range at the LOQ level. Use of matrix-matched standards could minimize the matrix effect, which was lowest in grape, followed by pomegranate and mango. Recoveries ranged within 70-120% at 10, 20, and 50 ng g(-1) in all three matrixes with associated relative standard deviations <20% (n = 6). The method could be successfully applied to the screening of 100 farm samples for compliance to EU maximum residue limits.

Multiresidue Determination and Uncertainty Analysis of 87 Pesticides in Mango by Liquid Chromatography―Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based method was optimized and validated for the multiresidue analysis of 87 pesticides in mango at the ≤ 10 ng g(-1) level. The method involves extraction of 10 g of homogenized mango samples (+10 mL of water + 1 g of sodium acetate + 10 g of sodium sulfate) with 10 mL of ethyl acetate; cleanup by dispersive solid-phase extraction with a combination of primary secondary amine (PSA, 50 mg), graphitized carbon black (GCB, 25 mg), and anhydrous sodium sulfate (150 mg); and final estimation by LC-MS/MS with multiple reaction monitoring. Direct analysis (no clean up) resulted in significant suppression in ionization of the majority of the test compounds over the electrospray ionization probe. However, clean up with the above combination of PSA + GCB reduced the matrix-induced signal suppressions significantly, and the signals in the cleaned extracts were nearly equivalent to the corresponding solvent standards. Substitution of PSA with florisil also gave equivalent clean up effects. The method was quite rugged as evident from a low Horwitz ratio (mostly <0.5) and low measurement uncertainties at 10 ng g(-1). The limit of quantification was <10 ng g(-1) for all of the pesticides with recoveries within 70-120% for most pesticides even at 2.5 ng g(-1). The method offers a significantly effective, sensitive, cheaper, and safer alternative to the existing methods of multiresidue analysis.

Multiresidue determination of 375 organic contaminants including pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls and polyaromatic hydrocarbons in fruits and vegetables by gas chromatography–triple quadrupole mass spectrometry with introduction of semi-quantification approach

A residue analysis method for the simultaneous estimation of 349 pesticides, 11 PCBs and 15 PAHs extracted from grape, pomegranate, okra, tomato and onion matrices, was established by using a gas chromatograph coupled to an electron impact ionization triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (GC-EI-MS/MS). The samples were extracted by ethyl acetate and cleaned by dispersive solid phase extraction with PSA and/or GCB/C(18) by the methods reported earlier. The GC-EI-MS/MS parameters were optimized for analysis of all the 375 compounds within a 40 min run time with limit of quantification for most of the compounds at <10 μg/L, which is well below their respective European Union-Maximum Residue Levels. The coefficient of determination (r(2)) was >0.99 within the calibration linearity range of <5-250 ng/mL for compounds with LOQs<5 ng/mL. While for the compounds with LOQs within 5-10 μg/kg, the lowest calibration level was 5 and 10 μg/kg as applicable. The recoveries at 10, 25 and 50 ng/mL were within 70-110% (n=6) with associated RSDs<20% indicating satisfactory precision. The information generated from the single laboratory validation was further utilized for building a semi-quantitative approach. The accuracies in quantification obtained via individual calibration standards vis-à-vis semi-quantification approach were comparable. For incurred samples, the concentrations estimated by the semi-quantification approach were within ±10% of the values obtained by direct quantification. This approach complements the existing GC-EI-MS/MS methods by offering targeted screening and quantification capabilities.

Extraction of pesticides, dioxin-like PCBs and PAHs in water based commodities using liquid–liquid microextraction and analysis by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

Water based samples such as flavored drinks, juices and drinking water may contain contaminants at ultra trace level belonging to different chemical classes. A novel, simple, low-cost and fast method was developed and validated for trace residue extraction of pesticides, dioxin-like PCBs and PAHs from water and water based samples followed by analysis through gas chromatography (GC) coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ToFMS). The extraction solvent type, volume; sample volume and other extraction conditions were optimized. This was achieved by extracting 10 mL sample with 250 μL chloroform by vortexing (1 min, standing time of 2 min) followed by centrifugation (6000 rpm, 5 min). The bottom organic layer (200 μL) was pipetted out, evaporated to near dryness and reconstituted in 20 μL of ethyl acetate+cyclohexane (1:9) mixture resulting in an enrichment factor of 400. The recoveries of all compounds were within 76-120% (±10%) with the method detection limit (MDL) ranging from 1 to 250 ng/L depending on the analyte response. The MDLs were 400 times lower than the instrument quantification limits that ranged from 0.4 to 100 ng/mL. The method was further validated in water based drinks (e.g. apple, lemon, pineapple, orange, grape and pomegranate juice). For the juices with suspended pulp, the extraction was carried out with 400 μL chloroform. The extract was analyzed by GC-ToFMS at both 1D and GC×GC modes to chromatographically separate closely eluting interfering compounds the effect of which could not be minimized otherwise. The resulting peak table was filtered to identify a range of compounds belonging to specific classes viz. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated, brominated, and nitro compounds. User developed scripts were employed on the basis of identification of the molecular ion and isotope clusters or other spectral characteristics. The method performed satisfactorily in analyzing both incurred as well as market samples.

Ultrasound-Assisted Emulsification Microextraction for Determination of 2,4,6-Trichloroanisole in Wine Samples by Gas Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A fast and effective microextraction technique is proposed for preconcentration of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (2,4,6-TCA) from wine samples prior gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometric (GC-MS/MS) analysis. The proposed technique is based on ultrasonication (US) for favoring the emulsification phenomenon during the extraction stage. Several variables influencing the relative response of the target analyte were studied and optimized. Under optimal experimental conditions, 2,4,6-TCA was quantitatively extracted achieving enhancement factors (EF) > or = 400 and limits of detection (LODs) 0.6-0.7 ng L(-1) with relative standard deviations (RSDs) < or = 11.3%, when 10 ng L(-1) 2,4,6-TCA standard-wine sample blend was analyzed. The calibration graphs for white and red wine were linear within the range of 5-1000 ng L(-1), and estimation coefficients (r(2)) were > or = 0.9995. Validation of the methodology was carried out by standard addition method at two concentrations (10 and 50 ng L(-1)) achieving recoveries >80% indicating satisfactory robustness of the method. The methodology was successfully applied for determination of 2,4,6-TCA in different wine samples.